Let's get the ball rolling, shall we?

Alright, let's face it. Post grad is not what we thought it would be. Sure, I had a stint at an awesome high-tech PR firm as an intern for about five months. Oh, and I escaped the dreaded "living at home" bit by moving into a cute 1-bedroom apartment in one of the most 20-something friendly suburb in California. I shouldn't be complaining.

But since my awesome internship and sexy apartment transitions, life has taken quite the interesting turn. I am now back at my college job at a major theme park near my home town, while my best college comrade is couch surfing in my living room (and helping me tow the line in rent of course).

So life doesn't include a 401K or benefits at this point. I have the stability to afford my own health insurance, an apartment, and of course... my iPhone. But about every four weeks I break down and tend to panic... where the heck is life taking me?!?

We had elementary school, when life's biggest challenges included spelling, math and pudding vs. Jello-O. Then there was middle school, where determining which Spice Girl was most like you determined your standing in school. High school brought a feeling of freedom. Sure I didn't have the hippest ride, but my '95 Tercel got me to and from colorguard rehearsal without getting stuck on the way... too often.

When college hit we were able to transition from whatever stereotype we were in high school, to whatever we wanted. For me that changed quite a few times over the course of my 5-year stint at California State University, Chico.

Each of these transitions had defined starts and endings, usually involving some sort of bad cap and gown ensemble with a Costco cake following. But after our final slice of education cake, what's the next big step? Oh wait, that's right... for many of us it is our wedding cake.

Don't get mewww.csuchico.edu wrong, I constantly am thinking about weddings. My sister is getting married, my boyfriends roommate is getting married, my college roommate just got married... it is wedding fever! But it is terrifying to realize that the next big change in our lives will be when we decide to "settle down" and  get hitched.

So here is to all of us 20-somethings who are still searching for that thing to make them shine before we put on that pretty white dress (or dashing tux for all those guys out there). May we brave the next 5-10 years with all the grace and ease we did when we forged through the decision of *Nsync or Backstreet Boys.